Origin Ore

"Alright, besides this, what else do you know?"

Curly Fur spoke, interrupting the Fear Beast's complaints.

The Fear Beast, watching the two Black Rat, interrupted, hesitatingly saying:

"No, that's all. Besides that, all I know is what happened before: how they contacted each other, when the operation started, where they were to meet up, and how—cough, how to deal with those Black Rat who were watching over us!"

Curly Fur nodded. Although he was curious about the specifics of the animals' actions, he figured that questioning the Calamity Beast that orchestrated the incident would be just as effective, and might even provide more information.

"Um, that..."

A sound came.

Black Rat Curly Fur refocused its attention on the Fear Beast.

Ignoring its hesitant expression, I turned my gaze to the Gray Whiskers above it.

"Hey!"

Gray Whiskers grinned, then, as if realizing something, he managed to utter a single, desperate 'No!' before ending the Fear Beast's life.

Gray Whiskers flicked the blood from his claws, then looked at Curly Fur and asked:

"So, are we going to go to that Origin Ore now?"

"Well, we've already found these guys' destination, how could we not go there?!" Curly Fur grinned menacingly.

Gray Whiskers stood to the side, grinning maliciously as well.

"However, I didn't expect the guy who devised this plan to be so clever..."

The two beasts chatted idly as they flew rapidly toward the location of the Origin Ore.

This time, they did not deal with the rioting Calamity Beast they encountered along the way.

As long as these guys don't escape the valley, it doesn't make a big difference whether we deal with them sooner or later.

What's more, they even know where those guys are headed!

The distance shortened rapidly with flight, and after a short while, a mine exposed in the night came into view of the two Black Rat.

The mine is predominantly white-gray, shimmering faintly in the night.

Seemingly lucky, when they spotted the mine, they saw a group of twenty or thirty Calamity Beast heading towards the downward-facing mine tunnel dug at the edge to explore the mineral reserves.

"Hey, there really is!" Gray Whiskers laughed from the side.

"Hmm, it seems that guy wasn't lying to us after all, but..."

Curly Fur paused, flew forward for a while, and then slowly came to a stop, extending its claws to signal Gray Whiskers to stop as well.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Gray Whiskers looked over with some confusion.

"Let's wait for now. The Dull Star Stone Mine is quite far from here, but it's not the furthest. If even the Fear Beast has only just arrived up ahead, then the other Calamity Beast that are even further away are probably even further behind. If we go there now, it will take a lot more effort to deal with the Calamity Beast that haven't arrived yet," Curly Fur explained.

"So, we'll wait here until all the other Calamity Beast have gone in before we go over?" Gray Whiskers continued.

"Yes, that's right!" Curly Fur nodded.

"Hey, that works!" Gray Whiskers laughed.

"Also, we can use this time to bring over the tribespeople from the surrounding area. Although those livestock can't hurt us, if there are too many of them, it will be troublesome to deal with them!" Curly Fur added.

Without refusing, Gray Whiskers nodded.

After a brief discussion, the two Calamity Beast separated and flew off to the sides.

After quite some time, the two Black Rat returned.

This time, however, they were accompanied by several smaller Black Rat.

The Black Rat climbed to the treetops, straining their necks to peer towards the distant mine.

Every time a Calamity Beast appears and enters the mine tunnels, they get excited.

However, because the two adults, Curly Fur and Gray Whiskers, were nearby, and because they had been specifically reminded earlier, they had no choice but to try their best to suppress themselves.

Then, intermittently, more Black Rat darted out from the forest and stopped beside them.

The quantity started small and gradually increased.

Gray Whiskers glanced at the three Black Rat Black Rat had summoned to search for other members of his tribe, then turned his gaze forward.

In the mine under the cover of night, some of the Calamity Beast that had stopped fleeing had already passed by.

"If those two Calamity Beast hadn't been exposed, who knows, this plan might have actually gone according to the planner's idea, right?!" Gray Whiskers thought with some emotion.

Then, it began to ponder another question.

Even if they manage to evade the initial search and have more time, is it really possible for these creatures to get out?

Exit through the valley entrance?

Impossible. Judging from the composition of the Black Rat at the valley entrance, even if these guys were only half left now, or even if they were at their peak more than ten days ago, they wouldn't have been able to attack the valley entrance.

So, climb out?

That's unlikely, since the clan leader has already arranged for Black Spine and the Fourth Tier Black Rat to search along the mountainside.

These creatures are discovered by their own kind before they've climbed very high.

Although initially the tribespeople might not have a good way to deal with them due to their large numbers, as long as they promptly notify them later, then...

His thoughts paused, Gray Whiskers suddenly lowered his head, frowning as he pondered.

Climbing out might actually be possible!

When the time comes, we only need to deal with those Black Rat that can't think straight and only know how to deal with them one by one.

At that time, given their numerical advantage, some of them might actually be able to escape!

Pity!

Gray Whiskers's lips involuntarily curled into a slight smile as he looked up into the distance at the exposed mine in the night.

The Origin Ore were uneven, but overall relatively flat, bearing traces of the Calamity Beast ' long-standing mining activity...

"Oh, right," Gray Whiskers said, turning to Curly Fur as if suddenly remembering something, "Wouldn't it be a waste of a lot of Origin Ore if we fight down there later?"

Upon hearing this, Curly Fur's eyebrows furrowed.

Unlike Dull Star Stone, Origin Ore cannot resist Origin Power; nor is it as hard as Eternal Iron Ore.

A slightly stronger attack can shatter them, causing the Origin Power stored inside to leak out.

For this reason, the mining methods Origin Ore here are very different from those used in other mines.

To mine here, you need to infuse your Origin Power into the ore, severing the Origin Power connection within it, before you can smoothly extract the Origin Ore!

Because this requires a high level of Origin Power Manipulation, and because too much mining wastes the area, it's easy to be whipped by the monsters, so many Calamity Beast don't like to mine here.

After thinking for a moment, Curly Fur said in a deep voice,

"It's okay if some parts are ruined; there's only one mine tunnel, so the impact will only be limited. Compared to that, it's more important to deal with them all at once!"

It was a bit of a pity, but Gray Whiskers nodded. Anyway, a lot of Origin Ore would be wasted every day.

Curly Fur stood up to the side, his gaze fixed intently on the distance.

"Alright, the situation over there is about the same..."